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breaking news

Palm Beach County Formed In 1909

Readers: This is Part 3 of a series on Dade County, Juno and Palm Beach County.
After the Dade County seat moved in 1899 from Juno back to Miami, folks at the north end – the county stretched to Stuart – decided they needed their own government.
According to a 1935 recollection by area pioneer L.W. Burkhardt, Guy Metcalf, publisher of the Tropical Sun and later first superintendant of Palm Beach County schools, “said to me one day, ‘Burk, don’t you think Dade County is too large? We ought to have a county of our own.’ I agreed with him.”
Twelve to 15 people met over the public library on Clematis Avenue, and Burkhardt was named chairman. A bill passed through the State Senate in 1907, but it stalled in the House. A delegation went to Miami to plead with Rep. J.C. Watson.
Watson said he feared his store would lose business.
Two years later, the north-enders found a challenger, George O. Butler, who ousted Watson and pushed the bill through the House. Palm Beach County officially formed on April 30, 1909. There were about 5,000 residents.
The county would quickly shrink. Broward was formed from parts of Dade and Palm Beach in 1915, Okeechobee from parts of Palm Beach, Saint Lucie and Osceola in 1917, and Martin from parts of Palm Beach and Saint Lucie in 1925.
Read More: Pioneers in Paradise, by Jan Tuckwood and Eliot Kleinberg.
Loxahatchee River Historical Society: 747-6639. Web: http://www.lrhs.org

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